Hinge construction



June 7, 1960 o. v. ANDERSON HINGE CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4. 1956 FIG7 INVEN TOR. OLOF V. ANDERSON FIG. 6

ATTORNEY All June 7, 1960 o. v. ANDERSON HINGE CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 4, 1956 FIG. 14

INVENTOR OLOF ANDERSON ATTORNEY June 7, 1960 o. v. ANDERSON 2,939,169

HINGE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 4, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. OLOF V. ANDE RSON.

ATTORNEY United States atent HINGE ZONSTRUCTION Slot V. Anderson, Warwick, RL, assignor to Anson Incorporated, Providence, 12.1., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed June 4, 1956, Ser. No. 589,218

6 Claims. (Cl. 16-159) The present invention relates to improvements in hinge constructions and more particularly to an improved hinge construction which eliminates the use of and requirement for screws, nails, or similar items which are usually required for securing the hinge plates to the elements to be hingedly connected.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved hinge construction, the purpose of which is to hingedly join a pair of elements, wherein the hinge construction includes a pair of hinge plates pivotally joined together and at least one of the plates has means associated therewith which obviates the necessity for screws, nails, or similar attachment devices in attaching a hinge plate to an element to be hinged.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved hinge construction wherein the means for securing the hinge plates to the elements to be hingedis of a simple nature, economical to manufacture and as semble, and yet which firmly and substantially non-releasably secures the hinge to the elements to be hinged.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hinge construction for use in combination with a pair of elements to be hingedly connected wherein the hinge construction makes possible the molding of at least one of the elements to be. hinged In the case of a box or a top for a box, either part could be molded and one wall thereof formed with a recess which acnovel means is of exceedingly light weight and yet exceptionally strong because of the manner in which it is associated with its cooperative element.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hinge construction which employs novel means for securing at least one hinge plate to its respective element, which means is so associated with the hinge plate and element to be hinged as to .give maximum resistance to separation.

Still another object of the present invention is to pro vide an improved hinge construction wherein in order to connect the element to be hingedly connected together it is merely necessary to insert each plate or at least one ofthe hinge plates into a slot formed in the element to receive the same. In this connection, the arrangement can be such that partial assembly can be effected, easy separation being possible because of the incompleted inse'rtion of the hinge plate into its cooperative recess, whereby at a later time disconnection can be made if it is desired to associate different elements together than were originally associated with each other.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved hinge construction which is especially adapted for use in combination with boxes and covers or tops therefor wherein it might be desired to associate any one of several different types or colors of covers or tops with a box. Thus, the goods to be sold in the box could be shipped therein with a cover associated therewith and the retailer could be provided with a number of difierent types and colors as far as the covers are concerned and the assembly of cover to box can be I made by the retailer when a choice of style or color has hinge construction in exploded relation to one of the clements to be hinged, in this case a box;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the elements which comprise my improved hinge construc tion;

Figure 3 is a front view of the hinge construction showing the novel strip associated therewith;

Figure 4 is a' view taken substantially along the plane of line 44 in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a tront elevational view of the strip per se;

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the strip of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional View through an assembly of my improved hinge construction and the box showing the cooperative relationship between the parts;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing a slightly difierent form of hinge construction;

Figures 9 through 12 are views similar to Figures 3 I through 6 but showing the form of binge construction of- Figure 8; v

Figure l3 is a vertical sectional view taken through my improved hinge construction and a portion of the element with which it is associated showing the manner in which the elements are cooperatively associated with each other;

Figure 14 is a view similar to Figure 13 but taken at a difierence point along the length of the hinge;

Figure 15 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing still another form of improved hinge construction;

Figure 16 is a front elevational view of the hinge construction showing the strip of Figure 15 in enlarged detail;

Figure 17 is a view taken substantially along the plane of line 17-17 in Figure 16; Figure 18 is a front elevational view of the strip per se; Figure 19 is an edge view of the strip of Figure 18' and showing in dotted lines the manner in which the end portions how when the hinge is inserted into a cooperative slot;

Figure 20 is a horizontal sectional view through the i end wall of the box of Figure 15 showing the manner in.

which the hinge construction cooperates with the slot;

Figure 21 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through a portion of the wall of the box of Figure 15 showing the manner in which the hinge construction cooperates With the end walls of the slot; and

Figure 22 is a vertical transverse sectional view showing the manner in which the improved hinge construction of Figure 15 is received in the slot of the box.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like numerals apply to like parts throughout, it will be seen in Figure 1 that I have shown my improved hinge construction indicated generally by the numeral 10 in combination with a box 12 to which is to be hingedly connected a cover or top (not shown); It will be understood that although I have shown a box the elements Patented June 7, 1960 to. be.v hingedly connected together may be other than a box and its cover as will readily be understood. For example, the improved hinge construction could be emplayed. for hingedly securing a cabinet door to a cabinet or wherever two. elements. are. desired to 'be hingedly connected. together.

As shown best in Figures. 2v through 6, the improved hinge construction 1-0 is: comprised ofa fpair of hlngefl plates14 and 16 pivotally connected together by a hinge pin 18:, a; spring 20 and av retainer means 22'. While the hinge plates 14 and 16 are pivotally connected to gether bythe hinge. pinv 18 as shown, it'will be obvious As the hinge plate 16 and its strip 22 are inserted into that'where desired other means for pivotally connecting he plates can he utilized withoutd'eparting from the spirit and scope of the, instant invention' The details of how the hinge plates 14 and 16 are pivotally connectare ShQWn to he. of: conventional: form and detailed description thereof. is therefore deemed unnecessary; Each of the hinge plates '14 and 16 is formed with a cutout; portion-- 24' or 26 preferably at. their centers and alongtheir outside edges; 28; and. 30. for cooperation with the spring 20. The spring 20 is. formed ofresilient maten'aland' anarcuate. portion 32 terminating at its ends with reversely bent portions 34 and 36? which are adapted to be engaged with the edges of the cut-outs 24 and 26 ShQWn Figures 3.v and'7. As shown, the hinge construction has: its; retainer meansZZ associated with only 9. .Qf the hinge: plates. ldalthough it will be understood the slot 68, it will be seen that the prong-like projections 53 and 60 with their pointedends 62 and 64 will be deflected because the dimension X shown in Figure 4 is made to be greater than the dimension Y as. shown in V Figure 7.. Because the prong-like projections 58 and 60 are disposed in cooperative relationship with the cut-outs 38 and 40, the difiierence in the dimensions of X and Y forces the prongs to be deflected as shown in Figure 7.

I Moreover, it is to be especially noted that the length of that where'desired, both hinge platescan be formed for having'retainer; means: associated ther ewitli. The hinge the pointed ends 62 and 6'4 is such as to be greater than the dimension Y? .f'fhus, if after insertion, it is attempted to remove the hinge 10 from the box12, the pulling force exerted on the strip 22 will tendto pull the bearing-portion 84 against the interior wall surface.

86 of the slot 68 while the pointed end bites in "at 68 into the interior wall' surface fli'of the slot 68 thus creating a wedging action which rigidly withstands the application of removal forces on the hinge.

Inthe construction shown in Figures 8' through 14, the hinge 10 and boxf12 are; of the same construction as ".shown in- Figuresfll through Twith the exception of the,

plate 1. inaddition to. its center cut-out 26- apair 0f Q ltzquts 3.8. and 40. which are of substantially rectangular' shape andiwhich are. located on opposite sides of the cut;.-o1.1;t;2.6.. Adjacent: the-ends of the -hinge plate 16' are formeda pair of narrow slits 42- and 44 fora purpose presently to be described.-

The retainer means. 22 is preferably formedas aiseparate strip of: resilientfmaterial thin enough to be, easily. 7

manually flexed. The strip is of narrow elongated shape and has at its. ends a pair of tabs- 46 and 48 which are thereof acut outSZ is provided which substantially correspondszin shape to the cut-out 26 of the hinge] plate 16 sothati the spring 20'can haveits terminal portion 36 engaged therethrough so as to hold thecenter of the stripllin association with the hinge plate 16asshown in Figure 7. Also, the strip-22 is' formed with'afplurality: of transversely extending slits 54' and 56 which open out at the edge 50. The slits 54'a'nd 561d'efine a pluralityof tonguesor prong-like, projections 58'. and 69' which, terminate inreversely bent pointed portions 62 and 64 best shown in Figures 5 and 6. As shown, the pointed end portions 62' and" 64 are inclined with respect to'the plane ofithe-strip 22 and extend'generally toward the hinge pin 18 orother'pivotal interconnection for the plates 14 and 16.

Looking now at Figure 1, it will be seen that the. box 12 is of substantially conventional rectangular dish, shape except for its rear' wall 66. The box 12 can .be of molded constructionsince the slot 68, presently to. be described, permits of such molding; The slot 68 in. the wall 66 of the box 12 is of elongated shape opening out into the top surface 70 of the wall 66. At its center, the slot 68 opens to the interior of-the box at the wall'surface 72 so as to provide a cut-out at 74. Preferably-,-the inner surface of the. slot 63 is formedwith a plurality of ribs 76, 78, 80 and82, the function of PfiSet slightly from theplane ofthe strip as-shownbest 7 11!; Figures. 4 and 6; Thus,-in order to secure the ie I formation ofthe strip 22 which will now be described.-

Instead of forming the strip? 22' with only a pair of" prong-like projections as in the previous species, the strip 22"" isformed with three prong-like projections at each sideof the' center cut-out 52 as shown at 92 and 94." Two of the prong dike projections. of each group 92. and 94 are shownwith their pointed ends 961 and 98 reversely' bent on one side of the strip 22' while the pointed ends 100 and 102" are reversely bent' on the opposite side of,

the'strip 22. r

As shownfin Figures and. 14',- the assembly of. the

hinge 10Iinto the slot 68 of thebofi 12'i's. made in substantially' thesame wayas shown in Figure 7 However,

itjwill be noted that because the utilization of prong.- like projections which t'e'rminate i'n pointed ends directed oppositely from each other, the middle pointed ends 100 and 102 will be directedthrough the cut-outs 38v and 40 so as to engage the'interior wall surface 86" of. the slot;

' 6.8; as" shown in Figure 13 while the other pointed ends 96 fandtflfi'will' be, directed against the interior wane];- 'facef 9fias in the previous'embodiment. The resistance of the 21556111513," to, withdrawal from. the slot 68 thusbe' heightened by the arrangement of the prong-like projections with respect is the slot '68; v v p Lookingnowat'. Figures 15 through 22,.the third species of hinge. construction will now" be described. Inasmuch as the box- 12 which is shown by Way of example,

is the'salme'. as in the. previous. embodiments, no further description thereof iis deemed"necessary. However, the.

hinge construction 10' differs from those-of the-previous embodiments in that the hinge plate '16 and strip 22".;

are. of somewhat. difierent formation. The hinge plate 16" is formed. with the center cut-outf2 6 but omits the other cut-outs along the edge 30. and instead of having slits formed. adjacent its ends as in'previous'embodiments, the. hinge plate 1 6. has a. pair of slits 104 and 106s'pace'd substantially inwardly from the ends thereof.

The. strip- 22. which cooperates with the hinge plate 16 is 'formed. from resilient'materialand is of narrow elongated shape havinga cut-out at 52' corresponding tothose oftheprevious embodiments. However, instead of having end tabs, the strip. 22 has formed inwardly from its.v ends. alpair of tabs 108 and- 110: whichare struck outfrorn the material of the strip. and areoutwardly bent as. shown. in Figure 19.. The strip 227 has. its endedges formed with a saw-tooth formation 112 and 114 which correspond to the prong-like projections of the previous embodiments. In this embodiment, the overall length of the strip 22 is selected so as to be slightly longer than the length of the slot 68. The strip 22" is mounted on the hinge plate 16' by bowing the central portion between the tabs 108 and 110 so that the tabs can be inserted into the slits 1G4 and 106. Thereafter, in order to effect the assembly, reference being had to Figures 20 through 22, the hinge plate 16 with the strip 2 associated therewith is inserted into the slot 68 of the box and because of the bevel of the teeth as shown at 116 and 118, the strip 22" is received within the slot 68 notwithstanding the fact that the strip is longer than the slot. To further facilitate insertion of the assembly into the slot 68, the resilience of the strip is such that the portion thereof outwardly of the tabs 108 and 110 bows as shown in Figure 20 to reduce the length thereof substantially to that of the slot 68. The saw-tooth ends of the strip prevent removal of the hinge from the box and provide an etfective mode of attachment.

In view of the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an improved hinge construction which accomplishes all of the objects hereinbefore discussed. Inasmuch as it is impractical to make conventional hinges, such as with the hinge pin, from material which is sufliciently thin and resilient to be flexible for necessary functioning as in the assemblies hereinbefore described, it will be seen that I have provided a unique hinge construction which is susceptible of embodiment in many forms.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents, are therefore intended to be embraced by these claims.

I claim:

1. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plates pivotally connected together, each of said plates being adapted to be secured to a respective element to be hinged, retainer means associated with each of said plates for securement thereof with its respective element, at least certain of said retainer means comprising a separate strip of relatively thin resilient material formed with a plurality of prong-like projections directed generally toward the pivotal connection of the plates, and means securing said certain retainer means to a respective plate.

2. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plates pivotally connected together, each of said plates being adapted to be secured to a respective element to be hinged, retainer means associated with each of said plates for securement thereof with its respective element, at least certain of said retainer means comprising a separate strip of relatively thin resilient material formed with a plurality of prong-like projections directed generally toward the pivotal connection of the plates, said pronglike projections being inclined with respect to the plane of the respective plate, and means securing said certain retainer means to a respective plate.

3. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plates pivotally connected together, each of said plates being adapted to be secured to a respective element to be hinged, retainer means comprising at least one strip of relatively thin resilient material, each strip including tabs securing the strip to one of said plates, and said strip having a plurality of prong-like projections directed generally toward the pivotal connection of the plates and inclined with respect to the plane of its respective plate for securement thereof with its respective element.

4. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plates pivotally connected together, each of said plates being adapted to be secured to a respective element to be hinged, retainer means comprising at least one strip of relatively thin resilient material, each resilient strip including tabs securing the strip to one of said plates so as to provide for limited relative movement between each strip and its respective plate and permit manual attachment of the strip to its respective plate, and each strip having a plurality of prong-like projections directed generally toward the pivotal connection of the plates.

5. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plates pivotally connected together, each of said plates being adapted to be secured to a respective element to be hinged, retainer means associated with each of said plates for securement thereof with its respective element, at least one of said retainer means comprising a strip of relatively thin resilient material formed with a plurality of pronglike projections at least part of each of which is directed generally toward the pivotal connection of the plates and inclined with respect to the plane of the respective plate, said plate having the strip associated therewith being provided with at least one cut-out at the location of at least one prong-like projection so as to provide a recess into which the latter can be deflected so as to divert said part to its retaining position.

6. A hinge construction comprising a pair of plates pivotally connected together, each of said plates being adapted to be secured to a respective element to be hinged, retainer means associated with each of said plates for securement thereof with its respective element, at least one of said retainer means comprising a relatively thin strip of resilient material formed with at least one pronglike projection, a first part of each of which projection extends generally away from the hinge pin and is substantially coplanar with its respective plate and a second part of each of which is reversely directed generally toward the pivotal connection of the plates and is inclined with respect to the plane of its respective plate, said plate having the strip associated therewith being provided with at least one cut-out at the location of at least one pronglike projection so as to provide a recess into which the latter can be deflected so as to divert said second part to its retaining position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,481 Bryant Jan. 17, 1939 2,174,430 Valentine et al Sept. 26, 1939 2,464,524 Nathan Mar. 15, 1949 2,553,882 Sweet May 22, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 36,999 Germany Sept. 20, 1886 

